Beneficiaries of the programme would enjoy postnatal care for a 12-month cycle.

The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu has launched a support programme to provide assistance for multi-birth families that will improve access to quality healthcare for low-income families.

Sanwo-Olu who unveiled the initiative through a Non-Governmental Organisation, Jumejilo Multi-Birth Assistance Programme (JMAP), said that the beneficiaries of the programme would enjoy postnatal care that would run for a 12-month cycle.

The JMAP intervention was initiated in 2021 by the first lady against the background of the rising rate of multiple births in the state and the neonatal mortality associated with High Order Multiple (HOM) pregnancies among low-income families.

Speaking at Lagos House Ikeja where cheques and gifts were presented to the first set of beneficiaries of the JMAP Programme, Sanwo-Olu described the initiative as a dream come true.

The NGO, JMAP was conceived to complement the output of other existing initiatives and support systems in the Lagos State health sector for parents of High Order Multiple (HOM) pregnancies.

She said that JMAP would alleviate medical complications, mortalities and disorders associated with multiple births, including premature delivery, preeclampsia and irregular foetal growth, among others.

”Available data indicate that Lagos has an infant mortality rate of 39 per cent per 1,000 live births monthly, with preterm complications significantly accounting for the high mortality,” Sanwo-Olu said.

She said that the support for multiple-birth parents and infants would come in the form of socio-economic support, constant enlightenment, empowerment, social inclusion and a welfare support system.

During this period, the multi-birth households would undergo social empowerment, health education and economic sustainability programmes, in addition to follow-up social and welfare engagements, as the babies develop.

”Potential JMAP beneficiaries must be below 60 years, while their socio-economic status (in respect of annual income) must not be more than N250,000 per household.

”Prospective beneficiaries must also have Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) Cards as proof of residential status, with utility bills of at least 12 months; they must be an expectant or current multiple-birth mother with triplets or more that are between ages 0 and 5 years,” Sanwo-Olu said.

She said that JMAP had not been set up as a conventional NGO, giving monetary assistance to the public, as the financial support to be made available to the beneficiaries will only be provided specifically as sustenance for multi-birth parents, in line with the objective of the programme.

The Governor’s wife called on like-minds, public-spirited individuals and corporate organisations to support her vision of giving hope to families that needed help.

In her remark, the Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs Oluremi Hamzat said that the life-impacting initiative had brought to light the motherly instinct of Dr Sanwo-Olu, in ensuring that numerous challenges associated with multiple births were mitigated.

”Given the extensive evidence that twins and other multiple births worldwide are associated with a substantially higher risk of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, this initiative will further strengthen the window of opportunities and would be of immense assistance to multiple birth parents,” Hamzat said.

At the programme unveiling, two multiple birth mothers, one with quadruplets and another with triplets, went home with JMAP Babies Awards among other gifts, including cash and assorted baby items.